Housing benefits

The residents of rental housing may be entitled to housing benefits, whether they rent social-assistance housing or housing on the open market.

Application and rules

Applications for housing benefits have to be submitted to the relevant local community where the applicant has his or her legal residence.
The application must be renewed at the beginning of each year.
Application forms are available at the local communities' offices and from the Ministry of Welfare, but some local communities have prepared special application forms.

A residential lease agreement must be registered in order to apply for housing benefits. This will be done at District Commissioners office in the region where the leased flat is registered.
In order to be entitled to housing benefits, the applicant must have his or her domicile in the housing in question. Students studying in another local community are exempted from this requirement.
Benefits will not be paid when renting a single room with common access to kitchen and toilet, nor for residential accommodation in commercial buildings. The following are exempt from these requirements:

Students living in student housing or in dormitories.

Disabled people living in communal housing.

Housing benefits are calculated on the basis of the amount of the rent, family circumstances, income and assets.
Housing benefits are tax exempt, but they must be declared.
An applicant for housing benefits can refer the processing of an application to the social services appeals committee in the local community, if he or she feels that the processing was not properly conducted.

Some local communities grant special housing benefits to those who live under difficult financial and/or social circumstances. These benefits must be applied for at the social services of the local communities.